Air conditioning apparatus



Sept. 8,

M u n r p u p n C. M. BOSWORTH, JR; ET AL AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed July 1, 195'? INVENTOR. CYRUS M. BOSWORTH,JR. RAYMOND T. DIVERS.

' ATTORNEY United States Patent "ice AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS "Cyrus M. Bosworth, Jr., Syracuse, and Raymond T. Di- *-vers,-Camillus, N.Y., 'assignors to Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, N.Y., a corporation -of Delaware Application m 1, 1957,'SerialNo.'669,276 5 Claims. (Cl. 62-78) have been appended to the air conditioner to perform e'ac'h'of these functions independently 'of each other. This wasinherently'costly and'made the air conditioning unit cumbersome and bulky. Furthermore, insofar as we are aware, most odor absorbing equipment which has been usedinairconditioners inthe past was of the'type which absorbed a certain amount of odors and "then became saturated. This necessitated removing the odor absorban; equipment "from the airconditioning equipment and replacing it, as required. Thisprocedure was both costly 'andi'nconveni'ent. Itis withthe overcoming of the foregoing shortcomings that the present invention is concerned. 7

It is'therefore the main objectofthisinventionto pro-1 yide in combination 'with an air'conditioner an improved construction whichwill both filter and deodorize contaminated air.

'Iti's another object'of this invention to' provide a-construction for an air conditioner which in addition to ac- "complishin'g the foregoing objects will also dispose'ofthe condensate which accumulates in an air conditioner.

A'still further object of thisinvention is to provide apparatus for filtering and deodorizing contaminated air which can be used indefinitely inthat it is automatically regenerated and cleaned during operation of the air con- 'dition'er. Other objects and attendant advantages-of the present invention will'readily be'perceived hereafter.

The present'invention relatesto apparatus and "a meth- "od'forabsorbing odors from andfiltering contaminated air and disposing of condensate in an air conditioner. A flexible belt of odor absorbing material is caused to travel proximate to both the evaporator and'condenser of the air conditioner. During its travel proximate the evaporator the odor absorbing belt is cooled. This makes it more absorbent to odors. Room air is caused to pass through the cooled belt whereby-the odors in the air are absorbed by the belt. Foreign particles such as dust, dirt, lint'and'thedilte'are also trapped in the belt'as-the air passes through it. The cooledbelt thenpasses through "a condensate drain pan where it picks up condensate which 'is produced duringoperation of the air conditioner. Further'travel of thebelt causes it to pass into proximity with the condenser of the air-conditioner. Outside air, which 'i sfojrcedthrou'gh the condenser for cooling the'latter,'is 'thus'heated 'andis caused to pass through the odorabjsorbing belt. The combination of airpas'sing through the "belt andthe heat oi this air-desorbs the odors in the --lzfelt. -'Furthe'rino're,'the passage of air through the belt 2,902,834 Patented Sept. 8, 1959 also causes "the entrapped foreign particles on the belt to be blown from the belt. The heated condenser cooling air alsoeausesthe condensate which is-held'by the-belt to be "evaporated. 'The'cleaned, *deodorized-belt is then caused to pass in proximity-with the evaporator andthe foregoing "describedeyele is then repeated. The present invention will be more tullyhhderstood when the following portions of the specification are read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure '1 is an isometric view of-a roomair conditioner with certain parts brokenaway in order to showthe structureof the present invention;

Figure 2 is a greatly-enlarged view of aportion of the flexible odor absorbing belt; and

Figure 3 is a detail View, in cross-sectiomof the parti- 'tion which divides the evaporator and condenser chainbers of the-airconditioner.

In Figure "1 an air' conditioner of the room type is shown with certain porti'onspith-ceasing 10 broken away in the interestof clarity. "Suitably mounted in casing 10 are 'motor-compressorunit T1, 'a condenser coil 12 and an evaporator coil '13. expansion member, such as a capillary or expansion valve (not shown) t is provided'between the -'condenser '12 and evaporator 13. The refrigerant'carrying conduits liriking elements 11, 12'and '13 have been omitted from 'the drawing -for the sake of clarity. However, it is 'to be understood that the re- "irigeration circuit er the air-conditioner is conventional.

Casing "10 is divided by partition '14 into an evaporator chamber (not'numberetlqwliich houses the evaporator 13 and into 'a condenser chamber (not numbered) which houses condenser 12. Mounted-inpartition 14 is a motor "15 having a double'endedshaft 16. Condenser fan 17 is mounted on one end of shaft 1'6 andevaporator fan ls i's'moun'ted on the'otherend of shaft 16.

Thecasing'IOfis mounted in'a wall "19 or window. The portion of the 'unit containing the evaporator chamber may project substantially within the room 'tobe conditioned and the portiono'f'the unit containing the-condenser chambersubstantially-projects in the out-of-doors, 'asis well knownin the art.

During operation of the air conditioner, room air is induced intothe evaporator chamber through apertures 20 in the 'bottomof casing '10 or through-'any other suitable apertures. Thisair'isthen'forced through evaporator '13, *where it is cooled, andthe cooled air is discharged 'through'louvers "'21 into'the'room. Condenser cooling air is induced into the condenser chamber'by fan 17 through louver 22. 'Fan 17 then forces this air through condenser 12 for cooling {the-condenser. Because of this heat exchange thecondenser cooling-air is heated. This air is then'discharged-to the'out-of-doors through louvers "'23in'casing'10.

ln-addition tocooling air-in the above described man- -ner, it-is necessary to dispose of condensate which forms "during the operationof the'air conditioner. It is also desirable-to 'deodoriz-ethe room air which'is being'recirculated in :the above-described manner. 'In addition '=to'the"foregoing it is also'desirable to-filter the air which =is being recirculated "by removing foreign particles such as dust, dirt, lint and the like 'therefrom. A highly simplified inexpensive"construction is utilized to accomplish all of" the foregoing objeetives, as described indetail hereafter.

-An-endless belt 24-is provided. This belt (Figures'l "and 2) is made of'a "fine fibrous material knitted into a coarsely-woven mesh, the primary-objective being that this b'elt will have a large amount of'surface-area which "will permit the absorption-ofodors without causing too great a pressuredrop. Thisbelt maybe made-of poly acrylimide or any other-suitable type of material. It

=is also-within-thecontemplation of this invention that the belt may consist ofQa loose weave of heat resistent material, or a very open paper made of asbestos fibers, which has been impregnated with an odor absorbing material such as activated charcoal In the latter embodiment the activated charcoal maybe applied to the asbestos fiber belt, the latter being impregnated with a plastic which holds the charcoal to the fiber belt. It is also within the contemplation of this invention that other liquid or solid odor absorbers may be applied to belts made of other materials. In Figure 2 the embodiment is shown wherein a fine fibrous material is twisted into strands 25 and then woven into a coarsely woven mesh which will permit air to pass through belt 24 without causing too great a pressure drop,

Rollers 26, 27, 28, 29, 30and 31 are suitably mounted for rotation in casing, 10. (This rotating structure has been omitted from the drawingin the interest of simplicity.) Sprockets (not numbered) are provided at each end of each of the foregoing rollers, As can be seen from Figure 1 endless belt 24 is adapted to pass over all of the foregoing rollerswith track 32 at the margins of the belt containing apertures 33 mating with the above-mentioned sprockets. Belt 24 is driven in the following manner: A belt 34 couples shaft 16 to pulley 35 of the gear reducer 36. The sprocket 37 of gear reducer 36 engages track 32 for driving belt 24. It will thus be seen that when fan motor is in operation, belt 24 will be caused to travel around the rollers on which it is mounted.

As noted above, during operation of the air conditioner, condensate will form on evaporator coil 13. As this condensate builds up it will drip into condensate receiving pan 38 which is mounted below the evaporator. A tube 39 conducts this condensate into pan 40, which is located in the condenser compartment, where the condensate is picked up by belt 24 in a manner to be described hereafter.

It is to be noted at this point that it is desirable to keep communication of air within the evaporator and condenser chambers to a minimum. To aid in accomplishing this, resilient strips 41 are suitably afiixed to partition 14 (Figure 3). Similar resilient strips 42 are suitably affixed to brackets 43 which depend from the inside surfaces of casing 10. The foregoing construction effectively permits passage of belt 24 through partition 14 while minimizing the amount of air passing between the evaporator and condenser chambers.

The combined condensate disposing, air filtering and air which passes through it. Continued movement of the belt will bring the cooled portion in the path of air which is induced through openings 20 in the bottom of casing 10. This belt is' still cool because of its previous travel near the evaporator 13 and tends to again absorb odors when it is-near openings 20. Thus air which is recirculated by the air conditioning unit passes through belt 24 twice so that the cooled portion of the belt has two chances to absorb odors from the air which is being circulated by the air conditioner. Furthermore, it will be noted that the air coming up through apertures 20 impingesfirst on the outside surface of belt 24. Since this belt consists of a twisted loosely woven mesh, foreign particles in the air, such as dirt, dust, lint, etc., will tend to be trapped on the outer surface of belt 24. As noted above, the belt continually travels because of the driving mechanism associated with fan motor Continued movement of belt 24 will 'cause it to pass through lower sealing'structure 41, 42 around rollers 28 and 29 and into condensate pan 40. The washingaction'ofthe condensate-in pan 40*;will tend to remove the lint, dirt and dust which hasbeen trapped on the outer surface of belt 24. These foreign particles will then settle to the bottom of pan 40 and means may be provided for periodically removing pan 40 for cleaning. The belt then moves around roller 30 and across the face of condenser 12. As explained above, fan 17 forces outside cooling air across condenser 12. This air is heated because of its passage through condenser 12. The heated air then passes through the portion of belt 24 which is then positioned in front of the condenser 12. The heated air will heat belt 24 and cause the odors contained therein to be desorbed, it being appreciated that the heating of a substance containing odors will tend to drive the odors from this substance. The desorbing is accomplished because of two factors. The first factor is the heating, as previously mentioned, and the second factor is the washing or scrubbing action of the air passing through belt 24. It will further be noted that any remaining foreign particles which were previously trapped on the outside surface of belt 24 will be blown off of the belt because of the condenser cooling air passing therethrough. Furthermore, the condensate from pan 40 which has been absorbed by belt 24 will be evaporated by the hot air passing through the belt. The removal of moisture from the belt in this manner not only disposes of the condensate but also aids in the desorbing process because the evaporating water will tend to carry odors with it. As the belt 24 passes around roller 31 in the direction of the arrow, it will have been desorbed of odors, cleaned, and will be in a dry condition. As the belt moves between rollers 31 and 26, it will gradually cool down so that when it again passes across the face of evaporator 13 it will be at a relatively low temperature. The foregoing cycle is then repeated.

It will thus be seen that we have provided an air conditioner with a combination condensate disposer, deodorizer and air filter. It can readily be seen that the belt 24 which acts as both a deodorizer and filter is self cleaning in that the foreign particles which are picked up by it at one point of its travel are disposed of at another point of its travel. It can also readily be seen that the belt having absorbed odors in the cool portion of the air conditioner is itself desorbed in the warm portion of the air conditioner. Thus, there is a a regeneration process which is effected by taking advantage of the inherent differences in temperature between the various portions of an air conditioner. It will be further noted that there is a definite interaction between the three functions of the belt 24. More specifically, the condensate in pan 40 helps to wash belt 24 by removing foreign particles therefrom. Furthermore, the evaporation of the condensate from belt 40 in the condenser Zone tends to carry the odors from the belt. It will thus be seen that the combined air filtering and deodorizing and condensate removing construction of the present invention efliciently and economically improves the operation of an air conditioner.

While we have desciibed the preferred embodiment of our invention, we desire it to be understood that it may be otherwise embodied Within the scope of the following claims:

We claim:

1. In a self-contained air conditioning unit, the combination of a casing, a partition separating said casing into a first compartment and a second compartment, a refrigeration system including an evaporator placed in the first compartment and a condenser placed in the second compartment, a fan in the first compartment to pass air through said evaporator, aim in said second compartment for passing air through said condenser, a condensate pan in said second compartment, an endless flexible odonabsorbing belt mounted in said casing, means to rotate said belt, said belt being mounted to pass adjacent said evaporator to cool the belt, through the condensate pan to absorb condensate and adjacent 5 the condenser to heat the belt so that upon rotation of the belt the evaporator fan passes contaminated air through the cooled portion of the belt thus absorbing odors therein and filtering foreign particles from the air and trapping the particles in the belt, the belt then passing through the condensate pan to wash foreign particles therefrom and to absorb condensate, the condenser fan then passing heated air through the belt to desorb the belt and to remove moisture therefrom.

2. A self-contained air conditioning unit according to claim 1 in which the first compartment includes an inlet so disposed that contaminated air drawn into the compartment passes through the belt during ts passage from a position adjacent the evaporator to the condensate pan so that the contaminated air passes through the belt, then through the evaporator and again through the belt.

3. A self-contained air conditioning unit according to claim 1 in which the partition includes openings for the passage of the belt therethrough and seal means adjacent said openings to substantially prevent movement of air from one compartment to the other compartment through said openings.

4. A self-contained air conditioning unit according to claim 3 in which the means for rotating the belt are driven from a motor driving the fans.

5. In a method of deodorizing and filtering foreign particles from an air stream directed through a selfcontained air conditioning unit including an evaporator and a condenser, the steps which consist in passing an odor-absorbing and filtering member adjacent the evaporator to cool the same, simultaneously interposing said member in the air stream to deodorize and filter the air stream, passing said member through a pool of condensate to absorb the same and to remove foreign particles from the member, then passing said member adjacent the condenser to heat the same while simultaneously placing said member in a stream of heated air from the condenser to deodorize the member, to remove condensate therefrom and to remove remaining foreign particles from the member, and repeating the cycle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,519,739 Mark Dec. 16, 1924 2,134,544 Ashley Oct. 25, 1938 2,222,828 Guthrie Nov. 26, 1940 2,661,808 Kahle Dec. 8, 1953 2,672,024 McGrath Mar. 16, 1954 2,782,612 Spiegelhalter Feb. 26, 1957 2,804,758 Smith et a1. Sept. 3, 1957 

